ISRAEL - US Navy May Stop Docking in Haifa

Arno Froese

The US Navy has acknowledged that its longstanding operations in Haifa may change once a Chinese firm takes over the civilian port in 2021, prompting Israel’s national security cabinet to revisit the arrangement, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Haifa, the nation’s largest port city, regularly hosts joint US-Israeli naval drills and visits from American vessels. But a 2015 agreement between Israel’s Transportation Ministry and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG)—a company in which the Chinese government has a majority stake—has raised intelligence and security concerns that are only now prompting an interagency review.

That agreement granted SIPG control over the port for 25 years. The Chinese company has committed $2 billion to the project and, according to state-run media, plans to transform the port’s bay terminal into the largest harbor in the country.

A representative of the Sixth Fleet said the navy’s partnership with Israel remains “steadfast.”

“For now, there are no changes to our operations in Israel,” the commander continued. “I can’t speculate on what might or might not occur in 2021.”

A senior IDF officer confirmed that the review is under way. But it is unclear whether Israel has any recourse to allay US concerns with the China project, which is already sealed and in motion.

“The bottom line here is that Israel will make a fatal mistake by doing either or both of the following: disregarding China’s potential to advance Israel’s economy, and doing it with our eyes shut,” said Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier-general. “We must keep our eyes open, fully aware of the risk management requirements and its possible impact on the US-Israel relationship.”

-www.jpost.com, 15 December 2018

Arno's commentary

Slowly but surely, communist China is developing into a decisive leader when it comes to globalism. Although globalism is a child primarily born in the United States after the First and Second World War, it has now entered an apparently irreversible course, and communist China seems to be leading.

What is the Scriptural meaning, if any? We think this is only a political/economic play and relatively meaningless when one views it from the prophetic perspective. The bottom line was, is, and always will be: fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The nations of the world—whether communist, capitalist, socialist, monarchy, dictatorship, etc.—will all unite against the fulfillment of the prophetic Word; namely, that Israel will be the place of global judgment. Yet Israel’s future is guaranteed: “At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:20).

Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.